Pastor Doug May, Socorro, New Mexico, has been publishing weekly readings from the Book of Concord for several years. These are associated with the readings of the day (OT, epistle, or Gospel readings), for the Sunday in question based on the three-year lectionary in Lutheran Service Book. These are distributed by e-mail about 10 days prior to the week in question, allowing usage in bulletins or other teaching material for laity. NOTE: A DOC file is available for each reading that is formatted for the back page of standard CPH bulletins. The readings are archived here for those interested in reviewing this material.

It is valuable for all Lutherans to be familiar with what is in the Book of Concord, indeed to know the underpinnings of our faith in Christ and what makes us Lutheran. All Pastors and Congregations who are members of the LCMS subscribe fully to the Book of Concord as a correct exposition of the Holy Scriptures.

Here is a paragraph from www.lcms.org regarding the Book:

Lutherans believe that the Holy Scriptures are the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and of practice. We believe that the Lutheran Confessions, contained in the Book of Concord of 1580 are a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God.

The Triglot version of the book (with some additional information on it) can be reviewed in its entirety at BookofConcord.org.

To link to the current week's "Readings from the Book of Concord" reading, link to http://lcmssermons.com/boc -- this will always show the reading for "this week".

The BOC was originally published in 1580 in Latin and German. The English translations of the BOC are as follows:

1851 David Henkel and others, published by Solomon Henkel & Brothers in
New Market, VA, with an improved edition in 1854.

1882 Henry E. Jacobs and others, published by G.W. Frederick in Philadelphia, with a revised "People's Edition" in 1911.

1921 F. Bente and others, "Concordia Triglotta: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church" or the "Triglotta Edition". Published by Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, in three languages, and then also in English alone.

1940 John C. Mattes undertook to make a revised translation but died (in 1948) before the work was completed.

1959, Theodore E. Tappert. Published by Fortress in Philadelphia.

2000, Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert and others. Published by Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis MN.

2005, Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions-A Readers Edition of the Book of Concord. Published by Concordia Publishing House, St Louis.

The four common editions of the Book of Concord that you will hear people talk about today are the "Triglotta" (available on-line at http://www.bookofconcord.org put out by the LCMS, or Project Wittenberg), the "Tappert" edition (available for purchase here), the "Kolb" edition (available here), and the Concordia Ediion (available here).

The Book of Concord consists of the following sections:

The Three Ecumenical Creeds

Apostles' Creed

From 2nd Century A.D.; Baptismal Creed used in Rome.

Nicene Creed

325, 381 A.D.; This Creed intends to clearly state on the basis of Scripture that Jesus Christ is true God equal with the Father and that the Holy Spirit is also true God, equal with the Father and the Son.

Athanasian Creed

6th-8th Century A.D.; Confesses the teaching of the Trinity and the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Augsburg Confession

June 25, 1530; Philip Melanchthon; Often viewed as the chief Lutheran Confession; it was presented by the Lutherans to Emperor Charles V at the imperial diet of Augsburg as a statement of the chief articles of the Christian faith as understood by Lutherans; also contained here is a listing of abuses that the Lutherans had corrected.

Apology of the Augsburg Confession

1531; Philip Melanchthon; After the Roman theologians had condemned many of the teachings of the Augsburg Confession (AC), Melanchthon authored this lengthy defense of AC. Rightly considered a Christian classic.

The Smalcald Articles

1536; Martin Luther; Articles of faith intended by Luther to be an ecumenical platform for an upcoming ecumenical council. Stated what the Lutherans could not compromise and why.

The Power and Primacy of the Pope

1537; Philip Melanchthon; Was intended to serve as a supplement to the Augsburg Confession, giving the Lutheran position on the Pope.

The Small Catechism

1529 A.D.; Martin Luther; A short work that was to educate the laity in the fundamentals of the Christian Faith.

The Large Catechism

1529; Martin Luther; Though covering the same chief parts of Christian doctrine as the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism is really a series of re-edited sermons that Luther preached.

Formula of Concord

1577; Jacob Andreae,
Martin Chemnitz,
David Chytraeus, Nicolaus Selnecker; A restatement of some teachings in the Augsburg Confession over which Lutherans had become divided. The Solid Declaration is the unabridged version. The Epitome is an abridged version intended for congregations to study. Over 8,100 pastors and theologians signed it, as well as over 50 government leaders.